Chase For Justice
by isobeljones2000
Summary: When Nero, Raven and Darkdoom are ambushed at their meeting in New York, they know someone is after them. But who - and what lengths will they go to in order to have the most nefarious villains under their grasp? It will undoubtedly take a chase across the world for this question to be answered. Who will win out - justice or evil?
1. Chapter 1 - Meeting

**Chapter One - Meeting**

_A/N) This was first published on Wattpad, but a friend requested I post it here too. I hope you enjoy!_

The man and the woman walked along the busy New York street, seeming to part the crowd as they strode. The man wore, as ever, an immaculate black suit, the only colour coming from a bright red cravat at his throat. His face was unreadable to any passers by, but his eyes were relaxed and slightly amused looking as the crowds seemed to melt away before his imposing figure. They evidently knew this man was not to be messed with.

The woman matched his pace stride for stride easily, but she was tense and her eyes darted around constantly, alert to every sound and movement. And there was a lot of them, it being New York. She wore a long dark overcoat reaching to her ankles and concealing her body. She looked slightly scary as she scanned the crowd with her piercing blue eyes.

Nero knew that they may look an odd pair, but he had no time to speculate over it. He had an appointment with a friend. Raven was obviously wary, her fingers brushing her tactical belt that was hidden under her coat; walking in large cities was always a hazard to her. But she had agreed to guard him, as always. Sometimes he wondered if she wasn't a little unsettling to innocent eyes, but her presence always made him feel safer.

He checked his watch. Their destination was at the end of the street, towering high above the other buildings. A 40 storey block.

They turned into a side street in unison, Raven anticipating his actions a split second before it actually happened, as she was trained to do. The quieter side street left behind the crowds. Nero consulted his watch again. It was time to go in.

The building loomed above them, casting a shadow over the street. Nero, apparently with no qualms, walked to the door and opened it, walking through with no hesitation. Raven looked around, eying the surroundings warily, checking no one had witnessed them slipping into a side street before following her employer into the building.

Inside was just a regular lobby. Nero was already across the room greeting a tall handsome bald man who waited in the well decorated room.

"Diabolus! How good it is to see you, my friend," Nero greeted him warmly.

"Likewise, Maximilian. Though I am a little surprised you actually came. It's not like you to leave your school so willingly."

Nero chuckled. "As if I would pass up an opportunity to spend some time in New York with you! Besides, H.I.V.E. can look after itself for a few days."

"It is very grand," Darkdoom agreed. "I forgot what it was like in New York."

"It's hard to forget the grandeur of this place," agreed Nero.

"And Natalya too, I see," Darkdoom said warmly.

Raven smiled tensely at him as she checked the lobby for danger. "It's nice to see you, Diabolus."

"Come, Max, we have much to discuss. I have brought the documents and plans you wished to see."

Nero bowed slightly, the motion almost imperceptible. "Lead the way, Diabolus. I can hardly contain my excitement much longer."

Darkdoom exchanged a few words with the approaching Raven before leading the two to the lift. They stepped inside and Darkdoom pressed the button for Floor 36. The doors slid closed behind them.


	2. Chapter 2 - Bombing

**Chapter Two - Bombing**

The lift doors slid smoothly open, revealing a large luxurious penthouse. It had a large glass window on one wall showing a beautiful view of New York City. They were very high up in what could rightly be called a skyscraper. There were leather couches on the middle of the room with decorative pieces of furniture dotted around. Raven was sure there must be some cultural significance to the apparently random pieces of furniture, but she wasn't one for unnecessary adornments so paid little attention to them.

"You know how to live in style!" Nero laughed lightly, sitting down on a couch.

"I picked this place because I knew it is more likely we will not be eavedropped on." Darkdoom sat opposite Nero, setting a large black briefcase on the glass table between them.

Raven looked around the room carefully before choosing a position behind Nero at the opposite wall to the window. Something wasn't right, she knew it. But she said nothing, knowing she was probably only being over cautious.

Nero and Darkdoom were already engrossed in various documents spread over the table. Raven stayed standing where she was, staying alert, forever scanning the room for danger. She couldn't afford to lose concentration. These were two of the most notorious villainous leaders in history, no place was truly secure enough.

Two hours passed. Raven had an inability to get bored after the many hours she had spent in solitary confinement back in her childhood, but she never had any love for all the paperwork and politics of villainy. Nero relished it, she knew, but she preferred action. Nero and Darkdoom were finally packing up the documents back into the briefcase, and she couldn't help a tiny sigh of relief.

"Come and have tea - well I suppose it's more afternoon tea - you two," Darkdoom offered. "It's been a long time since lunch and I expect you're both hungry like me!" Nero nodded gratefully. Leaving the briefcase on the table, the two supervillains stood up, still talking animatedly about something or other that the assassin didn't bother trying to decipher. Raven was about to follow them through to the other room, but her eye fell on something tiny. Something on the floor to her right. A tiny metal canister, beeping almost silently - but Raven's highly trained ear was able to pick it out.

And it was rolling directly towards Nero and Darkdoom.

Raven wasted no time. She raced forward in an instant, hitting the two surprised villains in the back and pushing them away from the bomb.

"Natalya, what...?" Nero began in utter confusion, his face suddenly dawning realisation as he took in the look on Raven' s face.

"Move!" Raven pushed them forward as they broke into a sprint. Unconsciously Raven put herself between them and the canister, shielding Nero' s body as much as she could. Darkdoom had reacted faster; he was already a short distance ahead, making his way to the lift to press the button to open the doors. She had no idea of the power of the bomb, but she had to protect them at all costs.

Darkdoom, desperately hitting the button for the lift doors to open.

Nero, stumbling in front of her, scrambling to get away.

And the bomb, about to go off...

Quick as lightning, Raven shoved Nero as hard as she could towards Darkdoom, flattening him against the wall. There wouldn't be any time to get there herself. She just hoped it would be enough to protect them.

And then the bomb exploded.

Nero blinked, dazed but unharmed, a few moments later. Beside him Darkdoom was wincing and trying to get some breath back into his winded body.

Raven.

The assassin was lying crumpled against the wall, her eyes closed.

She had shielded them from any damage. She had saved Nero by shoving him into the wall. She had known she couldn't escape the impact herself.

Nero stood up too quickly, his head spinning. Darkdoom helped him to his feet. "Are you okay, Max?"

"I'm - I'm fine."

When he could see properly again past the flashing lights obscuring his vision, he hurried over to Raven, rolling her gently onto her front and checking her pulse. Her pulse was weak, but steady. And her back was in a bad shape. Her tactical armour and body suit had been ripped apart and there was a bad wound on her back from the explosion.

"Is she okay?" Darkdoom asked in concern.

"She has a pulse," Nero answered shortly. "She slammed into the wall pretty hard." He cradled her head, supporting her neck, not knowing what else to do without a medical kit.

After only about thirty seconds, Raven moaned softly, her eyelids fluttering slowly open. Nero looked down at her, concerned.

"Natalya, it's okay. It's okay. Don't try to move, you got a bad wound there." Of course, Raven attempted to move and winced. She had never been one for lying still. She felt like her back was on fire and she ached all over. But Nero was safe.

"Are you unharmed?"

Nero chuckled a little despite everything. "Am I unharmed? You're the one that just saved us."

"Good." Raven allowed herself five more seconds of lying there - of weakness, her mind told her sternly - before unsteadily getting to her feet, pushing the pain to the back of her mind. She nearly passed out again, but she had endured a lot of pain in her life and she was strong.

"Raven!" Nero used her code name sternly. "You shouldn't be getting up! You're hurt."

"M'fine." Raven ignored the warning and stood up straighter, checking her equipment and katanas strapped to her back. "We need to get back to the Shroud. Whoever attacked us will still be in the area."

"How do you do that?" Nero queried, his voice sounding a little awed. "Just get back up from an injury like that?"

Raven met his eyes. Ignored the searing pain biting at her back and the worried looks of both men. "I've had a lot of injuries like that," she replied simply.

"How do we get out? It could be dangerous to go down there. The building could be surrounded," Darkdoom mused.

Raven fingered the hilt of one of her katanas, a grim smile breaking out across her pale blood stained features. "Leave that to me." She took an experimental step. Didn't pass out. Definitely a good start.

Nero suddenly felt inexplicably scared. Maybe it was just the after effects of the all-too-recent assassination attempt, but he felt a little weak. Whoever had attacked them had known they were here, and whoever had been so bold as to attack them in a New York penthouse, of all things, were clearly not about to give up.

Darkdoom nodded to him as Raven walked past them, heading to the stairs instead of the lift and pulling on her long overcoat with a grimace. "Its too dangerous to take the lift. We'll take the stairs."

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Nero asked quickly.

Raven flashed him a glance. "I'm fine. It's them who should be worried. C'mon, only 35 floors to go."


	3. Chapter 3 - Travelling

**Chapter Three - Travelling**

When at last they reached the Shroud, Raven sunk down onto a seat, hissing in pain. Nero quickly reached for a first aid kit mounted on the wall of the Shroud as Darkdoom helped Raven remove her coat. Nero began to gently clean her wounds in her back without a word. Now wasn't really the time for chat. Raven winced at the touch but said nothing.

At last Nero stood, leaving the first aid kit on one of the seats. "There, how does that feel? A little better?"

Raven got to her feet weakly, stretching out her arms. "I'll be fine. But we need to figure out why and by whom we were attacked, to stop them attacking again."

"Natalya, thank you. You saved my and Diabolus' lives - again."

Raven shrugged. "It's my job to protect you two. The fact that you appear to be such magnets for bombs and bullets sort of comes with the job."

Nero smiled. At least Raven wasn't in an awful mood, though honestly he wouldn't blame her after what happened.

"We need to get out of New York. I'll get us up and away first, then we can decide where to go," Raven decided.

"Are you okay to fly the Shroud? I can do it if you want," Nero offered.

Raven shook her head. "No, I can fly fine. You two rest." She walked over to the cockpit ladder to prepare for launch. Over her shoulder she added drily: "Just don't get in too much trouble while I'm up there."

"Can't promise anything with Diabolus on board," Nero called after her. Darkdoom shrugged as if to say: fair point.

After only about half a minute, the Shroud rose into the air, instantly shielding and dissipating into the blue of the afternoon sky.

Nero finally allowed himself to relax, sitting back in one of the Shroud seats. Darkdoom was across from him.

"So who do we know who hates us?" Nero pondered.

"Probably quicker to list who doesn't hate us at the moment," Darkdoom noted.

"Good point, but not really getting us anywhere," Nero agreed.

"Annoyed anyone on the council recently?" Darkdoom asked.

Nero shrugged. "Only the normal. It's a villainous thing, I think. Not enough for anyone to dare bombing us."

Darkdoom looked a little uneasy. "Whoever it was clearly isn't going to stop at merely letting us get away. That was a big attack. Very extravagant, especially on a New York penthouse. They will be trying again. We must tread carefully."

"Treading carefully again," Nero sighed. "It feels like I can't even walk normally in my own school sometimes."

"You live in a school full of villains," Darkdoom reminded him. "I wouldn't dare to walk normally in case of hidden booby traps."

"It's mainly the pupils I have to worry about," Nero conceded.

"I am not surprised."

Nero looked out of the window. New York faded away beneath them, being obscured by cloud now. "Pity we have to leave so soon. I was rather looking forward to spending a couple of days in New York."

"Where are we going now?" Darkdoom asked.

"Well we can't go back to H.I.V.E. just yet," Nero decided. "I don't want to put the school at risk if we are being followed."

"Agreed," Darkdoom said.

"I'll ask Raven if she has any safe houses around this area. She has them all over the world, most of which only she knows about. About as secure as you can get," Nero decided.

"And I'll see if we have any beverages on board this ship. We never did have afternoon tea, after all. Nearly being killed can work up an appetite," Darkdoom agreed, getting up and walking in the opposite direction to Nero, who began to climb up to the cockpit where Raven was steering the Shroud.

"Where can we head? Not H.I.V.E., evidently," Nero voiced to Raven as he walked up to her and took the passenger seat next to her.

"We can head to one of my safe houses for a while. No one except me knows its exact location. We will be fairly safe there for a few hours at least," Raven offered. As she turned back to the steering she winced. Her injuries were deep and evidently painful. Nero felt unhappy but judging by the hard look on Raven's face she didn't feel like talking.

"Yes. That will be sufficient. Thank you, Natalya."

Raven grunted softly. Nero decided that she needed space and left the cockpit to where Darkdoom sat, an array of food in front of him.

They ate in silence, looking out of the window but seeing only sky. Raven was evidently taking no chances. And who could blame her? Not Nero, that was for sure.


	4. Chapter 4 - Ambush

After only about an hour or so, the Shroud descended, coming down through a thick forest, narrowly avoiding tall fir trees. It halted in front of a concrete building covered by undergrowth all around. From above you weren't able to see it. Raven climbed down from the cockpit, smiling wearily at them. "We're here."

Nero followed her out of the Shroud, Darkroom engaging the invisibility mode again before following them up to the door. Raven placed her hand on a scanner on the door for a brief moment, then spoke into a microphone next to the scanner. "Raven code 382. Open doors."

The doors opened to reveal a fairly spacious room lit by bright fluorescent light as there were no windows in the building. It was fairly standard inside, with a control panel to one side and seating to another. There was a kitchen in the back. Nero sat down again on one of the grey metal seats, feeling his body relax in the first time in hours. Even in the Shroud, though he hadn't consciously realised it, he had been tense and nervous. Having the threat of more bombing and possible assassination could do that to you.

Raven disappeared into another small room that Nero assumed was a storeroom, reappearing with hot drinks in a minute. "Wecome to my humble abode. It's one of my more frequently used ones, I have to admit; I spent a couple of weeks here a year or so back when tracking someone in America. But it should be safe for a couple of days at least."

"It's good. Thank you," Nero said. "It's not exactly the five star hotel we booked in New York, but after the day we've had, any bed seems good around now."

"The bedrooms are just upstairs. I'll sleep down here. Sofas are more comfortable anyway," Raven cracked a smile. Nero was pleased to see she was in a bit of a better mood than before. Without a word Nero went over and helped Raven out of her long black coat, being careful not to disturb the bandages on Raven's back. At least with the painkillers she had taken she wasn't in as much discomfort any more. "Goodnight Natalya. Sleep well. Are you sure you don't want one of the beds?"

"I like sleeping down here. I used to do it all the time when I stayed here. Plus I can keep watch. I have alarms rigged up outside so if anyone breaches the premises, I 'll know." Raven grinned predatorially. "And I don't think any attackers are quite stupid enough to attack me twice in one afternoon. If anything does happen, I'll be ready. And it won't be pretty."

The two supervillains left Raven rigging up extra traps at the door and parted into two separate well-furnished rooms. It didn't take long at all for Nero's eyes to droop and he fell sound asleep soon later.

When he awoke the next morning, the room was light and the sun gleamed through the thin shutters, filling the room with fragments of light. Downstairs he found Darkdoom and Raven sitting talking at the table eating egg on toast. Quickly he did likewise and joined them at the table. Both looked well-rested; Raven looked a lot more alert and determined now. Nero commented on it and Raven smiled. "The joy of sleeping on the sofa. It's actually very comfortable."

"So what are we going to do?" Darkdoom questioned.

Raven took charge. "Well, if there's no one about we might be able to make a getaway unobserved. I'll go and check the forest now for hidden agents or cameras to see if we've been followed. You stay here. I won't be long."

"Be careful. You're still injured," Nero warned Raven.

"They won't know what's hit them if they are out there," Raven promised. "Just try not to let yourself get killed while I'm gone."

"We will try our very best," Nero agreed as Raven made for the door, opening it with the scanner again and the spoken code before leaving the building.

Three quarters of an hour passed before Raven reappeared, a smile on her face. "No-one hiding in the forest, from what I can make out. We should leave it a few hours before it's safe to leave. But no one's getting through those doors without the code or my handprint."

"We're safe for now," Nero confirmed.

That was when the door exploded.

Raven, who was still standing near it, was thrown forward into the table, where she was left sprawled across the remains of a chair. Nero jumped back instinctively from the ensuing smoke.

"What the -" Raven jumped to her feet, drawing both katanas from their sheaths in one fluid movement. Nero was relieved to see she seemed unharmed from being thrown into a table, just incredibly annoyed, judging by the look on her face.

The smoke cleared to reveal a group of black-clad figures running towards them. "Oh, _wonderful_," Raven hissed. "Get behind me." She brandished both swords as she advanced menacingly towards the nearest one. With her expression of extreme annoyance, she looked an imposing figure. Nero watched in sudden worry as she and one mysterious attacker launched into a series of attacks. The man had no swords, however he blocked Raven's attacks with his arms, which were surrounded by black shield metal. Then he drew a gun.

Raven, apprehending the threat immediately, dived to the side as a bullet shot past her, then spun gracefully on one foot and swiped her katanas at him, killing him instantly.

Unfortunately, there were more. They launched attack after attack, this time at all three of them, as Nero and Darkroom had joined the battle knowing that Raven couldn't stop them alone. Raven kept the majority of them away from Nero and Darkdoom, keeping them busy with her brutal attacks.

But then there came a large blast from the back wall and men came flooding through the hole that was formed.

"So much for indestructible metal," Raven muttered, almost to herself.

There were a lot of people in the room now, which suddenly seemed far too small. Several came up behind Nero and grabbed his arms and wrists, much as he attempted to resist their hold. Then he felt a gun at his throat and stopped struggling, unable to speak. Darkroom was receiving the same treatment. Raven had already seen their capture and was slashing at her attackers, trying to get to them.

"Raven! It's okay! It's all right!" Nero yelled, trying to get her attention. "We surrender. We surrender!"

Two soldiers snatched away Raven's swords as soon as she hesitated. Nero raised his arms in surrender. There was no point fighting now, they'd just sustain further injury which would he pointless. Raven, obviously realising the same as Nero, raised her arms too in surrender.

Then one of the men came up behind Raven and hit her hard in the back of the head with his gun. Raven collapsed on the ground, caught by several men. There had to be at least hundred of them in there.

"We surrendered!" yelled Nero in anger. "You didn't need to knock her out."

"She is threat," said one man, His voice muffled by the mask he wore. "You are threat."

The last thing Nero saw was Raven's unconscious body being unceremoniously dragged across the floor before a blow to his forehead knocked him out.


	5. Chapter 5 - Waking

Nero came round and immediately wished he hadn't. His head was pounding and when he opened his eyes his vision blurred uncontrollably. Getting hit hard in the forehead would do that to you.

Who could have captured them and why?

His eyes struggled to adjust to the unexpected lightness in the cell. Nero was sitting on a cold light grey floor, his back propped up by the wall of a similar shade. His wrists were bound behind him with tight cuffs. Struggling out of them would evidently be futile. His vision was still very hazy and distorted, but he thought he could make out darker figures in the room with him.

"Natalya?" he tried hopefully. One of the dark shapes moved, grunting slightly as they too struggled into consciousness.

"Max? What -" the familiar Russian accent came to Nero's hearing. Then she answered her own question as the memories flowed hack. "We've been captured."

Nero couldn't see her face, but he recognised her tone. The tone that most people would only hear once in their lives, and most didn't live long afterwards to remember it. "It appears so. Are you injured?"

The shape moved; Raven was obviously checking this statement. "Doesn't seem like it. I have quite a substantial headache though."

"They hit you in the back of the head to knock you out," Nero informed her.

He could almost see Raven rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Of course they did."

"We surrendered!" Nero complained. "They didn't need to knock you out as well."

"Well when have I ever been given the nice treatment when we're captured?" Raven asked sarcastically.

"I assume we all share the same headache," the second familiar voice said. Darkdoom was sitting up now, one hand to his head. "They certainly have particular methods in causing unconsciousness."

"Are you injured, Max?" Raven asked.

"Like you, I have a headache from where they hit me. Also, my vision is blurred," Nero admitted, somewhat sheepishly.

"Can you see me?" Raven immediately enquired.

"Not very well," Nero answered.

Straight away he could just about see Raven trying to get to her feet, hindered somewhat by the cuffs securing her hands behind her back. Only moments later, she was crouching down beside him, looking into his eyes. "Blink," she commanded. Nero did so obligingly. Raven quickly checked his vision as well as she could with no use of her hands. "Slight concussion," she finally said. "But nothing you won't recover from in a couple of hours."

"Well isn't that lucky," Nero said. "It's not like I've got a lesson to teach or anything."

"Technically you're on holiday," Darkdoom reminded him helpfully.

"Great holiday then. Locked in a cell with concussion."

Before anyone could say any more, there was a click and the door opened, flooding the room with even more light. Nero was even more blinded than before, but after a moment of furious blinking he could make out figures standing in the doorway. Raven was already rising to her feet beside him, ready to strike. However the tall dark haired man standing at the front of the group made some kind of hand signal. In an instant someone yanked Nero to his feet and stuck a gun to his already throbbing forehead. A grunt nearby indicated that Darkdoom had just been given the same treatment.

The Russian woman cursed under her breath, left alone standing in the middle of the room as the man stepped forward to her. "Such spirit. I have to admire you. My boss wants to see you - now." He spoke with a thick implacable accent.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Raven hissed.

"All questions will be answered presently." The assassin looked uncertain, then, seeing Nero's captor push the gun even closer to his forehead, yielded. Her hands were bound tightly and it was too risky to try anything now. They wouldn't hesitate to injure Nero or Darkdoom. Why not her she wasn't sure. Maybe because they knew her reputation and were scared to get too close. Or maybe because they knew her weaknesses. She couldn't attack and guarantee the protection of her employers at the same time.

"That's right," the guard smiled nastily. "Take them to the boss."

Raven felt her arms being yanked even harder behind her back, sending arcs of pain through her fresh wounds. She hissed in pain as a guard shoved a gun directly into the painful area, and sent a small nod over to the other two to confirm she was okay. Nero probably still couldn't see much anyway.

"Now move."


	6. Chapter 6 - Reveal

The three were ushered through dark corridors at gunpoint by their captors. Nero could only attempt to focus on his surroundings; being in an unfamiliar place with hindered vision was quite scary. He could hear Darkdoom huffing in annoyance and Raven occasionally grunting in pain, but that was all. He wondered what the 'boss' was like.

Eventually they stopped at a door and Nero was hustled through first, blinking madly to try and take in the light in this new room. Raven raised an eyebrow enquiringly when she saw the man sitting in the middle of the room. This was not what she had expected.

The man didn't look any older than about twenty and looked, well - weak. He had large round brown eyes and black hair with crooked square glasses framing his face. He reminded Nero of some of the typical Sci-Tech students. He had an attempt at a cruel smile on his lips, but it just looked rather displaced on his wide innocent looking face.

"The boss," the commander said with apparently a completely straight face. "Here are the prisoners, sir."

"Good." The man/teenager said. His voice was thin and reedy, and Darkdoom was evidently struggling to avoid laughing beside Nero. "I trust you had a comfortable stay?"

Raven looked at Nero with an unreadable expression. As usual, it was impossible to tell whether she was amused or serious. It was Darkdoom who replied. "Oh it was excellent. Top of the range accommodation. Of course, we do generally like to choose when and where we stay, and we did have an extraordinarily expensive New York hotel booked, but it was very pleasant, thank you."

"My name is Samuel Harris, and I am the head of the LVC." He looked at them hopefully, obviously waiting for their reaction. Nero raised an eyebrow.

"Is that supposed to mean something to us?"

"The LVC!" he repeated insistently, obviously still expecting them to do something.

Darkdoom shrugged. "...Nope, still not recalling."

Nero shook his head sadly. "Sorry, you must have been under the papers of all the other wannabe captors when we were sorting through last year."

"You must have heard of us," Samuel protested. His voice sounded slightly petulant now, like a child's. "We've captured top villains! Lots of them!"

"No, you've probably captured some of the mediocre villains who just say they're the top villains to sound important," Nero corrected with a reassuring smile. "There's a lot of them about."

Samuel shook his head, apparently trying to regain his composure. "We are the League of Villain Capture. We are the protagonists, the good guys, the heroes. Our aim is to vanquish villains."

"Catchy title," Darkdoom commented, dead-pan expression. "You could go far with just the title."

"Stop talking back to me!" he screeched. Nero almost expected him to add something like: 'It's very offputting!"

"Okay," Darkdoom agreed. Nero had a feeling he would do nothing of the sort.

Samuel visually deflated. "You've really never heard of us?"

"Well obviously we have now," Darkdoom reasoned. "We're standing here talking to you."

"Well, no matter. We know all about your school, Nero. H.I.V.E., isn't it?" Samuel grinned smugly.

This time Nero was faintly surprised. "Yes. There is such a thing that exists."

"Yes, one of our bigger projects. But it hasn't escaped our attention, Maximilian Nero. Oh no."

"Well, it is a school under the sea," Darkdoom said with a cheery smile. "It is a pretty big project."

Samuel evidently wasn't very good at concealing his surprise. "It's under the sea?"

"No. But I kept telling Nero a school under the sea would be an amazing idea." Darkdoom grinned.

"Stop toying with me!" Samuel yelled.

"Okay," Darkdoom agreed again.

"Don't worry," Nero assured Samuel. "He's always been this annoying, especially when he's got a headache. He feels the need to take it out on someone, or occasionally passing walls. Don't take it personally."

Samuel ignored them. "Our aim is to free those poor children whom you have kidnapped and kept at your school."

Now Nero nearly laughed out loud, but managed to keep it in. "Kidnapped?"

Samuel smirked. "Yes. We know all. And once we have the co-ordinates of your school, we can free those poor innocent children who you have kept trapped against their will."

Nero grinned. _Good luck with that._

"Seriously," Darkdoom said. "Every single time, it's always about the coordinates of H.I.V.E. Always. They torture us to tell them, and then get surprised when we don't. It's practically a weekly occurrence."

"We're prepared to go to any extremes to get this information," Samuel threatened.

"Ooh, extremes! Exciting!" Darkdoom enthused. He was very, very good at annoying people if he wanted to.

Raven, who hadn't spoken all through the conversation, rolled her eyes. "Well if you've all finished trying to beat each other with witty banter, I think we'll be leaving."

"I don't think so. We finally have two great super-villains and the deadliest assassin in the world in our grasp."

Raven suddenly twisted out of the guard's strong grip and ran towards the standing man, launching a powerful kick straight at him before anyone even had time to register her movement. Samuel had a brief look of terror on his face, then simply sat down in the chair behind him, at the same time pressing a button on the armrest.

An arc of electricity leapt out of the air, striking Raven hard in the shoulder and throwing her back with a pained cry.

"Raven!" Nero cried out, unable to stop himself. At least he hadn't revealed her actual name. He was pretty sure Raven would never forgive him

Samuel smirked cruelly. "Very impressive. She actually managed to get near me. We will have to install more advanced security on her. After all, we wouldn't want the good guys to get injured in any way, would we?"

Raven was conscious still, and trying to get to her feet. Nero was concerned. He didn't know how high the voltage was on that bolt of electricity, but no one could survive much more of that, no matter how tough.

"Take them to the holding cells," Samuel ordered, his reedy voice suddenly sounding a lot more sinister. "High security. Interrogation will begin promptly."


	7. Chapter 7 - Planning

Nero sat on the floor of his cell, feeling the hollow ache of hunger growling in his stomach. Their preferred method of questioning was just not to feed them, then ask them countless questions for what seemed like hours. He had answered all of them cheerily, giving vague or sardonic answers depending on what mood he felt in. It had been around a day and a half since they had all been together with the 'boss', and Nero was pretty sure that he was in a different cell to the last two he had been in. This one seemed lighter, but smaller. Maybe they were trying to psyche him out. Well good luck with that, he thought. It took a lot to unnerve him; he was one of the greatest villains alive, after all.

But God, he was hungry now.

For the millionth time Nero idly fingered the wall next to him, his eyes able to tell him nothing of use about this prison. His hand moved blindly up and down the smooth panelling of the wall, feeling for anything that could be of use to him. He knew it wasn't a great plan at this point, but he was hoping that either Raven or Darkdoom had some formation of a plan right now.

As he sighed quietly, dropping his hand in annoyance, knowing it would be useless, something materialized under his touch. Instead of the steel wall that was covering the rest of the cell interior, he felt the familiar sharp grille of a ventilation, very low to the ground and very small and unnoticeable. That would be why he hadn't seen it - or felt it - before.

Maybe it could be useful.

Nero felt a dim glimmer of hope. Cells often adjoined, so just maybe Raven or Darkdoom were in the cell next to him. If they were, and they could contact, maybe they could come up with a plan.

Being very careful to avoid suspicion, as he knew where the cameras were that were monitoring him from the upper corners of the cell, Nero made as if he was lying down to sleep, rolling away from the cameras' view and making sure his mouth was right next to the vent. Now it would look less suspicious than if he was talking to thin air, as long as he kept his voice down.

"Raven?" he tried first hopefully. There was nothing but a stony silence. Nero pressed himself closer to the grille, speaking a little louder this time, hoping he could be heard. "Raven?"

At last, though it took a few moments, he heard a rustle and a groan from the other side, then a husky voice came faintly through the vent. "Nero?" It was Darkdoom's familiar voice, sounding relieved.

Nero couldn't hold back a sigh of relief. "Diabolus. Are you all right?"

"I'm not too bad, considering," was the murmured reply. Darkdoom was making an effort to keep his voice down. "I think they might have become a little fed up of questioning me, finally realising I don't know as much about H.I.V.E. as they seem to want to know. Nothing, in short. Or that's what they think I know."

Nero laughed softly. "These people are so easily taken in by your charm, Diabolus."

His laugh was returned. "That and my sardonic laughter and cryptic replies every time they threatened me. That really annoyed them after three or four hours of it."

"This I don't doubt," Nero assured him. "It manages to annoy me after a few hours of it, and I'm not even the enemy. Plus I'm almost certainly more patient than they are, so I can imagine their annoyance right now."

"Touché."

Nero turned serious again. "Are you injured?"

"Not as far as I can tell," was the reply. "I'm very hungry, though. I don't suppose they've fed you, have they?"

"I don't think that's their intention," sighed Nero. "These kidnappers never seem to have our best interests at heart."

"Max, we have to get out of here," said Darkdoom seriously. "Have you spoken to Raven?"

"No. I don't think she's this side of the cell wall. I would have heard her. There isn't a grille there, anyway."

"Wait a minute, I'll just check if she's my side," Darkdoom said. Nero heard him move away across his cell, obviously trying to make it look natural for any onlookers. After about thirty seconds his whispered voice was back at Nero's ear. "Nope. No grille."

Nero considered this. "They must be holding her somewhere else. We'll find her, once we get out of here."

"Agreed. We'll have to somehow overpower the guards to escape," reminded Darkdoom. Nero could almost visualize his face in his mind: determined yet anxious.

"We'll think of something. Somehow," Nero finished. "Tell me if there's any new instalments your end."

"Will do," came the reply.

Nero lay back against the wall, closing his eyes. He had no real intention of sleeping, but it would help to make it look like that for the cameras, in order to hide their minute of conversation. He couldn't help wondering where Raven was and how long it would actually be before they could escape.


	8. Chapter 8 - Escape

Nero didn't have to wait long for something to happen. He was drifting off slightly, on his back with his eyes closed, just letting his mind wander. Suddenly light streamed through the opening door as guards stormed into Nero's cell, the fifth time this had happened.

"Didn't even knock," reprimanded Nero sleepily. He could have sworn he heard Darkdoom stifle an amused chuckle on the other side of the grille.

The guards ignored his comment and two hauled Nero to his feet, hustling him swiftly from the dark interior of his cell. Blinking in the sudden brightness of the corridor, Nero noticed the cell door opening next to him and Darkdoom being shoved out by another four guards.

"He was in cell next to you," the lead guard said in a thick accent, somewhat unnecessarily.

"We would have never guessed," said Darkdoom innocently.

Nero was pretty sure the lead guard rolled his eyes, but he had no real time to tell as they were both moved swiftly up the corridor, flanked by four guards each. Nero flashed a meaningful look at Darkdoom, who shrugged slightly to signify they couldn't do anything right now.

They found themselves back in the large room they had started in, Samuel Harris standing in front of them evidently trying to look imposing. Raven was nowhere to be seen, Nero noted, again feeling a pang of worry about her, but trying to brush it off.

Nero expected Samuel to speak straight away, but the man avoided their gaze and seemed to be waiting for something. Nero raised an eyebrow at Darkdoom, who gave an imperceptible smile in his direction.

Presently Samuel glanced at his phone, looking slightly annoyed though trying hard not to show it. Nero couldn't resist a jibe, and spoke seriously to the man. "Having problems, 'boss man'?"

Samuel pretended to finally notice them, and stepped forward to meet them. "Ah, so our prisoners are here."

"We've technically already been standing here for almost -" Darkdoom checked his watch. "Thirty two seconds. Did you not notice us or something?"

Samuel had apparently decided to try and ignore all of their comments. "Enjoy your stay so far, Maximilian?"

"Oh yeah," answered Nero cheerfully. "Five star, at least. Though some food might not go amiss. Do you ever feed your guests, Samuel?"

"When it pleases us," was the answer.

"You would make such a rubbish hotel," muttered Darkdoom.

Samuel turned away, moving to the other side of the room and checking his phone again.

"Where's Raven?" Nero couldn't hold back from asking any longer.

"Oh don't worry. Raven will be joining us soon," Samuel smiled infuriatingly. For the third time he pulled out his phone and gave the screen a dirty look. "Where are they? They should be here by now." Although he spoke under his breath to himself, both Nero and Darkdoom picked up the words and looked hopefully at each other.

"Having - troubles, Samuel?" Nero asked innocently.

The young man met his eyes. "No. Everything is going completely according to plan."

He was an awful liar, Nero reflected.

"Are you sure?" questioned Darkdoom, sounding genuinely concerned. Nero had to try and stifle another laugh at his friend's acting skills. "Because you don't seem very happy at the moment. Do you need some help?"

Samuel didn't answer, but it was clear something was going wrong with his plan. Something that could prove key in helping them escape.

"Boss need no your help," the lead guard hissed in Darkdoom's ear.

Darkdoom shrugged. "Just offering."

The leader finally seemed to make a conscious decision and strode back up to them, an angry expression on his face. "Fine. We'll start without them," he said petulantly. "You have been most uncooperative."

"It's basically in the job description," Darkdoom replied instantly, grinning. "Don't give away your details to people who want you dead, it will end in trouble for all involved."

Samuel finally lost his temper. "Will someone shut him up?!"

The lead guard immediately clamped an iron clad hand over Darkdoom's mouth. Nero tried not to look too concerned and instead took over the role of annoyer. "I've been trying to shut him up for years and it never works. I have to congratulate you on that, even though you seem to be failing in most other respects right now."

He was pretty sure he heard Samuel growl. He was so bad at hiding his emotions, Nero thought. It made him so easy to wind up. "We are going to have to resort to more - unorthodox measures," he started, but just then several things happened all at once.

Alex's phone started to beep loudly, and a panicked voice suddenly emitted from it. "The men...three of them...dead...the rest unconscious...escape!" At exactly the same instant, loud sirens began to wail overhead, just as a figure clad in black smashed through the large window, brandishing a familiar pair of glowing purple weapons. Nero's heart leapt. Raven was here!

Raven's face was bruised and her lip was split, but her eyes gleamed a piercing blue as she landed lightly on the floor, an evil smile materializing on her face as she advanced on Samuel. He was gabbling very quickly into his phone, his breath coming in sudden panicked gasps. Then he dropped his phone and backed quickly away from the furious assassin.

After enjoying his fear for a further few seconds, Raven wasted no time in swinging one katana hard into the side of his head and he collapsed, blood running from a gash in his temple. The lead guard made as if to run to him straight away, but Raven pointed her other weapon at him. "Don't even think about it. Tell your tame soldiers to release them."

Quickly, at the lead guard's motion, Nero felt the pressure released on both his arms, and Darkdoom moved away from his tight gag hold. The guards moved towards their leader and Raven motioned them into a corner. "Now stay there until we leave. Then you can deal with - him." She gave a disparaging look at the slumped figure in the corner.

Nero and Darkdoom moved towards the door and Raven greeted them with a half smile, the most she ever showed. "You two staying alive?"

"Mostly," replied Darkdoom.

"Look what someone accidentally 'left' lying around," Raven said, gesturing to her black tactical outfit and katanas. "People should really know better by now."

"You'd think," Nero agreed. "Thank you, my dear. I knew you wouldn't let us down."

"When have I ever?" Raven asked. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

And so they did, leaving the scene of chaos and destruction that they always somehow seemed to create behind.

_A/N) Don't worry, there's still plenty more to come! I'm not ending this here just yet. Hope you enjoyed!_


	9. Chapter 9 - Adjusting

"London?"

"I was not expecting that," Darkdoom mused, looking out over the scene; there were trams moving through the centre of the street and tall buildings surrounding them. It was undeniably, unmistakably, a bustling London street.

"Well Samuel Harris was English," Raven reasoned with a shrug. "Plus, stranger things have happened on this 'business' trip. Being bombed then kidnapped, for one."

"Fair point." Nero agreed. "Though unfortunately, I don't think they were good enough to bring us our Shroud along."

"So our vehicle is stuck on a different continent," sighed Raven. "Great."

After they had left the building - which was just an unassuming two storey building on a quiet London side-street - Raven had led them for half an hour in one direction, trying to put as much distance between them and the place as possible. It wasn't very likely they would be followed, but it was good to be cautious. Nero wasn't sure how much Raven actually knew London, but he didn't want to ask.

"You wouldn't happen to have a handy safe-house nearby in London?" Darkdoom ventured hopefully, sitting down on a bench and looking out over the busy scene.

Raven thought about it. "I do, but it's out on the outskirts of London, not here in the centre. About twenty-five miles away."

"Do you actually have a safe-house everywhere?" Darkdoom asked.

"No. That would be illogical," replied Raven calmly. "Though, we will have to get to a safehouse to contact H.I.V.E. to pick us up. It's not like we can just phone them. I've got all the equipment there."

"So we'll need to get a train or something to get to your safehouse," decided Nero.

"Indeed."

As a woman avoided them, casting Raven a wary look, Nero realised what they must look like. He and Darkdoom didn't look too conspicuous, just a little bedraggled in their torn suits, but Raven was bloodstained, wearing her full tactical gear and katanas and had a painful-looking black eye and split lip.

"We may need to try and blend in a little more, my dear," Nero reminded Raven.

Raven seemed to realise her state and looked a little abashed. "Oops."

"I can get us some money!" volunteered Darkdoom, sounding slightly too excited to be normal.

"Please don't tell me we're going to 'earn' some money on the streets," Nero implored him in a whisper. "You know how well that went down last time."

"I actually think the audience rather enjoyed a little explosion," Darkdoom mused quietly. "Added a little excitement to their mundane lives, anyway. No, I mean I have a gadget to help." He drew a tiny circular metallic object out from his pocket. "Is there a cash machine anywhere here?"

Nero was intrigued. They found a cash machine in the wall of a bank nearby, and Darkdoom grinned, always ready to show off a new invention. "Watch and wonder, my friends." He placed the object on the keyboard and murmured something to it. "Codename Emergency Funding, activate."

Something whirred inside the cash machine and Nero raised an eyebrow as it presented Darkroom with a wad of English notes. Darkdoom took the object off the keyboard and concealed it back inside his pocket before turning back to Raven and Nero with a proud grin. "Will this be enough to buy a new outfit?"


	10. Chapter 10 - Tricks

Raven was the one to volunteer to go shopping in the end, as Nero didn't know the first thing about buying clothes, especially not for Raven, and Darkdoom they had both concurred was not to be trusted in a department store with large amounts of money. Nero and Darkdoom meanwhile would try to find a taxi that would take them to the nearest train station (not that they knew where that was). She wore a long black overcoat to hide her painful-looking injuries, and her final stern words to them before she limped off into the shop were: "Stay out of trouble. That means you, Diabolus."

Darkdoom had smiled innocently and promised to try, though he had been quick to point out that it really wasn't usually his fault that trouble materialized around him, it just sort of seemed to happen. Now he and Nero were standing slightly awkwardly on the side of the main road, feeling out of place and secretly both wondering what they actually had to do to hail a taxi, though neither of them would deign to admit it.

They watched several black taxis speed around the corner without slowing one bit, and race each other off into the distance. Nero raised an eyebrow. "If they're trying to get customers, their strategy doesn't appear to be working very well."

"Maybe they can't see us," Darkdoom offered. "We need to try and alert them."

"Yeah," Nero agreed, pretending he had known that. It had been a while since he had been in London, and he had always had transport already arranged when he was there. But you had to acclimatize sometimes to your environment.

Darkdoom made a gesture. "Go on then. You may do the honours."

"Oh, thank you," Nero said, before taking a step forward and raising his arm half-heartedly in the air in an attempt to hail one of the speeding vehicles. He had to maintain this position for a few moments however, before he next saw the familiar form, and waved his hand in the air. "Over here! Taxi," he said, feeling that his voice was sufficiently loud.

However, when the taxi didn't even slow down, Darkdoom snorted from behind him. "That's not how you hail a taxi, Max. Just waving your hand in the air and saying 'taxi' isn't going to get you anywhere."

"Well you do it better then," retorted Nero, slightly affronted.

Darkdoom inclined his head as if to say 'watch this', and stepped out half a metre into the road, waiting until he spotted another of the taxis before both hands shot up into the air and he yelled at top volume: "Taxi!"

A taxi driver did spot them this time; Nero was able to meet his eyes as he spotted the madly waving men. But then he looked away and the taxi he was driving shot off into the distance just like all the others.

"What's wrong with people?" Darkdoom wondered aloud. "He saw us. I know he did."

Nero shrugged, looking down at his torn suit and running a hand ruefully through his matted black hair. "Probably has finicky tastes. We don't exactly look on top form today, let's say that."

"Lets see if he looks any better when he's locked in a cell for 48 hours, questioned and given no sustenance other than water," Darkdoom retorted.

"I assume that most people don't live such exciting lives as we are accustomed to, Diabolus," Nero said dryly.

Suddenly a black car moved smoothly to a halt beside them, slightly scraping the pavement. The windows were tinted black so they couldn't see in, and Nero couldn't see 'Taxi' actually written on its exterior anywhere. But it had pulled up beside them, and it wasn't dissimilar to any of the others speeding across the London roads at the moment. It was a mercy they had actually managed to hail one at all.

The back car door swung open, and Nero could see that there were two figures seated in the front of the vehicle, with three empty seats at the back. Perfect.

"Hi," Darkdoom greeted. "We need a ride to the other side of London, please. For us two and our friend, who will be coming in a little while. Is it okay to wait for her?"

"Yes," a deep gruff voice said from inside, and Darkdoom smiled brightly.

"That's great! Thanks! C'mon, Nero, let's get in to wait for Nat - Raven," he hurriedly corrected himself as Nero shot him a warning look. Raven wouldn't want her real name tossed around here.

Darkdoom slid into one of the back seats and Nero hesitated for just a second before joining him.

The door swung shut straight away behind them. That was the first sense of unease Nero really got: the fact that he had done nothing to prompt it to close. But still, maybe it was on an automatic latch and did that anyway.

However, the second sense of unease came when Nero heard the motor start up from the front of the car. One of the silent figures in the front was revving the engine. Darkdoom heard it too, and was quick to correct him. "Oh, excuse me. We need to wait for our friend. She will be - excuse me, did you hear me?"

The car was beginning to move, and Darkdoom exchanged a worried glance with Nero. "We can't leave Raven. Excuse me, we can't leave yet. Excuse me? Hello?"

That was when the man in the passenger seat turned around, and both men instantly recognised the familiar face of the chief guard.

"I'm afraid we're not waiting for your pet assassin to catch up," he apologized, with an icy smile on his face. "And you're not going anywhere."

The taxi doors were locked.

They were trapped.


	11. Chapter 11 - Driving

Later, Raven wasn't sure what had told her that Nero and Darkdoom were in deep trouble. It may have been the sudden realization that her employers were never to be trusted alone in London, or that they really hadn't gone so far from where they had escaped from, or simply the prickling of the skin on her neck which she had learnt to trust by now. Either way, this feeling prompted her to drop the clothes that she was holding on the floor, ignoring a dirty look from the shop assistant who had witnessed this action, and moving swiftly out of the large shop. It could just be a hunch, but Raven's hunches were very rarely wrong.

And so it turned out that she was just in time to see the black car pulling away from the pavement next to where Darkdoom and Nero had been standing, and where they were now absent. Raven scanned the situation swiftly - they could have just wandered off, after all, it is _Darkdoom_ they're talking about here - and her attention fell briefly on the car. It had tinted windows, so she couldn't see inside.

_That's weird. London taxis don't have tinted windows._

Then, while the taxi was still relatively close to the pavement, the window opened just a crack, just for a fraction of a second, and she heard Nero's voice, sounding indignant and fearful. "Wait!"

She heard a sharp curse from the front of the car in German as the kidnappers evidently realised their mistake of letting Darkdoom near the windows, and a second later the tinted windows were rolled up again.

It was more than enough time for Raven to assess the situation.

She hadn't even registered that she was sprinting from the doors of the shop until she saw the head guard's face reflected in his side mirror of the car, looking at her. They had obviously seen her.

They wouldn't underestimate her twice.

The taxi wasted no time in accelerating into the London traffic away from the pavement, and Raven knew that she wouldn't have a chance of following on foot.

But Nero and Darkdoom were in that car, and nothing would stop Raven from getting them back.

Right now.

Along the pavement there were a number of motorbikes parked side by side near Raven. It took a matter of seconds for Raven to choose one at random and climb onto the seat of it. Only another six or so seconds were wasted hotwiring the engine to respond to her command, until the familiar hum of the powerful engine underneath her body started up.

Raven hit the acceleration pedal hard, and immediately shot out from the pavement, hurtling at break-neck speeds into the London traffic. She couldn't see the taxi from here, but she could travel faster than they could, and she knew the direction of where they went.

Let them try and stop her now.

* * *

"Your friend is following," the head guard said, directing his statement at the other man in the passenger seat, though Nero and Darkdoom heard him clearly, his accent strengthening. Nero could hear the evident displeasure in his voice.

"You underestimated Raven once," Darkdoom said. "I assume you won't make the same mistake again."

"She'll never catch us now," the guard said calmly.

Nero had to fight back a smile as Darkroom wrestled with the seatbelt that was like iron around both of their torsos. "There you go with the underestimating thing again. You really need to have more sense. Raven isn't just anyone else. You really think she won't be able to get to us?"

"We in a fast-moving car," the other man reasoned, in the same thick accent as the lead guard.

Darkdoom rolled his eyes. "You really don't get it, do you?"

"How can she possibly follow?" boasted the lead guard.

"Er, sir..." the other guard suddenly said, his eyes widening as he suddenly saw the view in the side mirror. "It's her!"

That was when they heard the heavy unmistakable thud on the roof of the car.

* * *

Raven zoomed through the traffic, weaving around cars and scanning her vision from left to right, methodically searching the crowds of cars for the black car with tinted windows that held her friends. It had had around a twelve second head start, but Raven had a motorbike and was able to weave around cars and overtake them, so she was travelling faster than the captor's car would be able to.

It was around twelve seconds before she spotted it ahead of her, barrelling through the traffic, apparently unwilling to slow down for any cars around it. They knew she had seen them, although she wasn't sure that they would notice her on the motorbike. At least not until it was too late.

Raven swerved around yet another car, her eyes firmly focused on her target just twenty metres ahead. She almost grinned as she passed another motorbike, its driver enclosed in a helmet and looking at her questioningly. She realised how she must look, without a helmet, her hair streaming backwards and the black overcoat having been shed on the pavement earlier, revealing the tactical armour and the black catsuit that hugged her body underneath.

Ten metres now.

Raven overtook a line of cars, narrowly avoiding scraping them with the motorbike. Sometimes she forgot how much she loved driving a motorbike; there was just something about the unique adrenaline rush it gave her.

Five metres now.

She neared the car, which began to speed up. It had evidently seen her in the side mirror now, as it was twisting and turning, trying to find a way to get away.

But it wouldn't be able to.

Four metres.

Two metres.

One metre.

Raven tensed her body as she pulled up right behind the captor car, in an instant swinging her leg over the seat so she was only half sitting on the bike.

Then she _sprung_.

* * *

"Sir, it's her. It's her. She's on the roof!"

Nero and Darkdoom exchanged wondering looks, then they looked up at the roof as if they could see Raven through the thick metal.

* * *

She made a perfect landing, landing in a crouch and grabbing onto both sides of the car to stay on the smooth surface. It wouldn't keep her on there forever, but it was a start.

Now she needed to get them out of there, and she couldn't do it from up here.

Time to get down.

Raven pulled out one katana from the crossed sheaths on her back, flicking the switch to its sharpest setting and angling it downwards towards the surface of the car. She had to be careful now not to impale either Nero or Darkdoom, because that would certainly be a successful rescue.

So she carefully chose the very centre of the roof where she was mostly sure no one would be sitting, then made the tiniest of incisions into the metal until she felt no more pressure. She was through into the inside. Now she just had to warn her employers before she made any more cuts.

"Nero! Darkdoom! Move out of the way!" she yelled as loud as she could into the tiny crack, hoping they had heard her. When she was satisfied that they must have moved by now, she slid the sword in easily, feeling no real pressure. This metal was strong, but her weapon was stronger.

* * *

Nero and Darkdoom heard Raven's yell from up above, and were quick to move to both sides to avoid her swords.

The lead guard's jaw dropped. "She's cutting through the roof!"

"How is that possible?" asked the other guard frantically.

"I don't know, but she's cutting through like it's butter!"

Nero smiled. "Oh yeah. Did we forget to mention that she's in possession of a pair of mono-molecular swords? They can cut through anything."

The guards exchanged suddenly terrified looks, as the edge of the familiarly glowing sword slid through into the back seat of the car in between Nero and Darkdoom. Nero smiled. He knew Raven would be able to rescue them. No matter what.

* * *

Raven made another cut, so that there was a tiny hole in the roof. She spotted Nero's eyes through the crack, and they were smiling up at her.

Then the car swerved onto a side street, leaving the busy crowded main roads of London behind. The intention was evidently to knock Raven off with the abrupt turn, and it nearly worked. Raven had to cling on for dear life to her sword, which was wedged in the roof, to avoid falling off the top of the car. The captors obviously realised that this was a good tactic to employ, and the car began to swerve and twist through the street. Raven could do nothing but try and hold on to her sword, which she quickly switched to its bluntest setting so it would stay in the roof.

_Hold on, Raven. Hold on._

* * *

"Twist! Twist and turn! We might have a chance of throwing her off then!" offered the guard, and Nero felt nervous for Raven as the car began to jolt from side to side. He knew she was strong, but was she strong enough to hold onto a swerving, fast-moving car with just her sword to hold her in?

"It's blunt," Darkdoom said quietly, touching the edge of the sword with one finger, as they heard a grunt from above them.

"C'mon, Raven..." Nero murmured. It was agonizing, knowing his friend was just above them, without being able to do anything to help her.

* * *

The car swerved again, and Raven nearly fell off the car. Much more of this, and she was toast. The drivers obviously realised this, as the car twisted and suddenly did a complete turn - right into the wall.

The abrupt turn was enough to throw Raven off into the wall, which she hit high and hard

However, the driver wasn't able to control his turn and the car careered straight into the same wall, crashing and coming to a complete halt.

It wasn't going anywhere any more.


	12. Chapter 12 - Recovery

Both guards in the front of the 'taxi' were unconscious from the crash, sitting limply in their seats with their eyes closed. Nero opened his eyes cautiously; being in the back of the car had been lucky for them. They hadn't felt the full force of the crash, which had left a rather large dent in the casing of the front of the car, but the back seemed to be more or less unscathed.

It took some force to try and lever the slightly dented car door open, but after the five seconds or so wasted, Nero wasted no time in hopping out of the car and heading quickly over to Raven, who was just waking up from her crumpled position on the ground.

"Raven?" Nero used her codename in case anyone was listening into their conversation, though he doubted it.

"I feel like I've been through a tumble dryer..." said Raven woozily, opening her eyes and shaking her head to dispel the dizziness.

"An understandable assumption," agreed Nero, helping his friend to her feet unsteadily, supporting her arm as she regained upright balance. It took a little while, but she was able to clutch onto her employer's arm to maintain her unsteady stance.

"Life isn't life until you've been in a car chase on a motorbike and been thrown into a wall, after all," Darkdoom reasoned with a straight face.

"True," Raven agreed with what might have resembled a slight smile, dispelling the last of the dizziness with a last shake of the head and regarding the crashed car balefully. "I think it's safe to say that they're not going anywhere."

"Better disable their communications just in case," Nero worried. "We thought they wouldn't be able to follow us last time, and they were able to kidnap us in a London taxi, of all things."

"I'll do some disabling," volunteered Raven. Darkdoom searched their unconscious kidnappers and found various walkie-talkies around the car, including three in their coats, one on both of their belts and another two in the glove box, which Nero decided not to enquire about.

"How are you going to -?" Nero started to ask, then saw the look in the Russian woman's eyes. Probably best not to ask.

"I suppose that's a method of disabling them," mused Darkdoom as they watched Raven destroy the communications devices with what seemed like a personal vengeance.

"And they say you've got a violent nature," commented Nero.

"Really? I wonder why?" Raven said with a deadpan expression, apparently finished completely obliterating the phones, the remains of which lay in a small pile of metallic fragments on the tarmac. Raven had been thorough.

Let us all take a moment to consider the sacrifice that the walkie-talkies made for the sake of this story.

"Now let's go. Not in a taxi. I think, under the circumstances, that a bus would be a safer bet," Nero decided.

"I don't think we'll be needing the bus," realised Darkdoom from behind them, gesturing to a sign on the street corner. It read 'Subway station'.

"Well, look at that," Nero commented. "The car chase did serve some purpose after all; it got us exactly where we needed to go."

"I could have done without being thrown into a wall."

"Apart from that."

"I _hate_ being thrown into walls," Raven muttered grumpily.

"Don't we all," Darkdoom said wisely. "Not that I try to make a habit of it."

Leaving the smashed car and the unconscious guards behind in the quiet side street, the three villains walked away, Nero supporting Raven's elbow, who walked slightly unsteadily but would have been loath to admit it. Nero just hoped no passers-by would chance to walk down that particular street, at least not until the guards had regained consciousness. On top of it all, they really didn't need the London authorities on their case as well. They already had a teenager with anger issues and a band of accented kidnapping soldiers after them. What an interesting couple of days.

The subway was dim and smelt slightly of grease and petrol, but it wasn't a cell. And there was a small clothes shop set in the concrete wall, which was handy, since Nero wasn't sure that they would be allowed on a subway looking as they did. Raven had lost her black overcoat in the chase, and being thrown into a wall hadn't really helped her overall look. Or her mood, come to that.

"This time, we're all going in to buy the clothes," Raven said firmly. "That's the last time I leave you two alone in London."

"Oops," Darkdoom said, not sounding tremendously apologetic.


	13. Chapter 13 - Sleeping

After Raven had procured herself a new long black overcoat which she drew around her protectively, and both Nero and Darkdoom had chosen new, slightly crumpled suits from the limited range offered at the small clothes shop, they found their way to the ticket office, where Raven intimidated the bored-looking receptionist. The usual story, really. Five minutes later, they turned up on the platform with tickets to somewhere. Nero didn't bother to look, they didn't know where they were going anyway. Away would do. Away was good.

Raven was wary, her eyes never leaving the entrance to the deserted, dimly lit platform as they waited for the tube. It was early evening now, and the only movement on the otherwise isolated traintrack was a bedraggled looking jackdaw pecking around for crumbs. Darkdoom settled down onto one of the platform's few iron benches, while Nero and Raven stayed standing. Nero looked at his bodyguard and their eyes met. Raven smiled tightly. It was obvious she wanted to get away as soon as possible.

It felt like an eternity, waiting down in the dark, dim subway, until the tube pulled quickly up next to them. "Let's go," Nero said quietly, touching Darkdoom's shoulder lightly to alert him, and following Raven onto the tube. Almost as soon as they were all on, the doors swung abruptly closed and the floor started to jolt beneath them as the train begun to move.

Darkdoom had slightly more experience of tubes than his friend, so sat down quickly on another seat, safe. Nero hadn't grabbed onto a handhold in time, so was flung unceremoniously across the carriage as the tube started picking up speed. Meanwhile, Raven had kept perfect balance with one hand resting on the vertical bar in the centre of the carriage, staying serenely standing amongst all the jostling about. As her employer struggled to his feet, only to lose balance again and stumble haphazardly in the other direction, Raven had to stifle a smile. Only her eyes betrayed mild amusement as she spoke: "Need any assistance there, Max?"

"No, no -" assured Nero, his words slightly muffled as he staggered about ungracefully for a few moments. Raven took pity on him, and took his hand, guiding his fingers to a seat opposite her, which Nero collapsed down into gratefully, ignoring Darkdoom's smirk.

"How do you keep your balance on these infernal things?" Nero asked, as he watched Raven slightly enviously, the assassin having not stumbled even once.

"I spent two months balancing on a tightrope over a lake of thin ice in my training," commented Raven, her voice matter-of-fact. "You soon learn to keep your balance."

"As you would," agreed Darkdoom, slightly hoarsely. Nero raised an eyebrow, but decided at Raven's faraway look to say nothing.

"Are you going to sit down, Natalya? Maybe rest a little?" asked Nero a few moments later, after Raven had been standing in the centre of the carriage for a while, still barely moving with the rocking motion of the tube. Nero didn't know who had heard that Raven was on this tube, but he was fairly sure they hadn't stopped once yet for any stations.

Raven shook her head. "I'm good. It's surprising how a motorbike chase can fill you with adrenaline sometimes. You sit down, sleep or something, I'll keep watch. I'll wake you when we're somewhere."

"No telling him twice," Nero replied, gesturing to an already snoring Darkdoom, who he assumed had fallen asleep a few minutes ago. "Where are we heading?"

"That depends on where you want to go," Raven said with a small smile. "Preferably somewhere our persistent pursuers won't find us for a little while."

"Oh, somewhere on the outskirts of London will do. I probably won't sleep anyway."

"Of course you won't," Raven agreed with a now-knowing smile, evidently not believing him in the slightest.

"I won't! I just slept anyway," Nero said defensively, even so feeling his body relax and his mind begin to fade from consciousness, tugging at his eyelids to fall closed.

Raven made a sceptical noise. "Since when? 'Just slept' does not describe - what was it, twenty hours ago now? In a cell? Sleep properly, Max. No one's going to judge you for it. You're not a robot."

"Neither are you."

Raven sighed. "I promise I'll sleep when we get there. Wherever 'there' is. Now sleep before I am forced to knock you unconscious."

Nero had to concede she had a point, and obediently lay down over two tube seats. He was almost faintly surprised at how tired he was, and it wasn't long until his eyes were fully closed and his breathing was slow and regular.

Raven briefly considered sitting down as well, but decided against it. She had to stay alert. So Raven watched Nero snore gently, a rare smile creeping unconsciously across her face as the darkness sped past from outside the faintly stained windows.


	14. Chapter 14 - Arrival

"Max? Max, wake up."

Nero yawned, and opened his eyes to find Raven already halfway across the carriage, one finger on a button that forbade the tube doors to close, the other hand beckoning him to come. "We have to go. This is our stop."

Sleepily shaking himself awake, Nero got up from his uncomfortable position stretched over three horizontal tube seats, and made his way to Darkdoom first, who was just waking up in a similar position. "Where are we?" he asked Raven.

"I have no idea," confessed Raven casually. "Some small infrequented area of London, hopefully. This is a few stops from the end, so if anyone did manage to track us, they'll hopefully expect us to have gone all the way - or at least part of it."

"Weren't we heading for your safehouse?" Darkdoom wanted to know with a yawn.

Raven nodded. "Yes. But if by some mysterious and annoying way they have managed to follow us this far, I'm not leading them straight to my safehouse. I've already had one destroyed so far this 'business' trip. I will figure out where it is once we figure out where we are - and make sure they can't track us to it."

"I for one am getting rather tired of this chase," Nero said with a wistful sigh, thinking of the spacious caverns of his school as he stepped out of the tube onto the platform, rather grateful to leave the juddering carriage. As they all made their way onto the platform, the doors swung shut behind them and the tube began to move away, speeding back into the tunnel with a loud hiss. They were alone on the platform.

"I know," Darkdoom agreed sympathetically. "But you know we can't return until we know they haven't followed us; we can't endanger the school."

"I know..." Nero said. And he did know. But wherever they had gone, their pursuers had managed to follow.

But how had they done it?

The answer came to both Nero and Darkdoom simultaneously. "Bugs."

"I already destroyed them," Raven told them calmly.

Both men looked at her, surprised. "There were bugs?" Nero inquired.

"How do you think they were following us?" Raven asked. "I found a tiny tracking device inside the covering of Diabolus' shoe, and in your sleeve, Max, while you were asleep just then. I think they planted them while you were in the car. I don't think they managed to get one on me, due to the fact I was conscious and kicking throughout most of the whole interrogation, and also didn't get involved in that little car chase."

"You got rid of them?" asked Nero hopefully.

A small smile graced Raven's features. "Of course. I bashed them up a bit then threw them out of a window a few miles back. Hopefully it'll look like we got out at that stop, and not like we've discovered their bugs. That way we can make our escape."

"The things you get up to when we're asleep, Natalya," commented Nero in amusement.

Oddly, Raven didn't share his smile. She looked down at the floor as they walked through the abandoned station, her gaze distant. "I should have checked for bugs the instant we left the place - and after the car chase. When we had made any known contact with our enemy. I was negligent."

Nero laid a hand on Raven's shoulder. "You were injured," he corrected. "And exhausted, and quite preoccupied with keeping us alive. I think you can be forgiven for one tiny slip in protocol."

"Still, if I had checked that little bit earlier, we could have been back at H.I.V.E. by now," Raven said regretfully.

"And soon we'll be back at H.I.V.E. anyway," shrugged Nero. "It's no matter, Natalya."

"No, no I think that Raven was very negligent in this matter," commented Darkdoom, his expression stern. "We could have avoided a lot of trouble if she had just checked." Then, as both Nero and Raven stared at him, his expression broke into a smile. "Joking!" he laughed, his cheery voice echoing around the corridor behind them as they finally left the tube station and came out into the light of the early evening, Nero flashing an exasperated gaze at his grinning friend. Still, Raven looked a little more content.

They found themselves in a sleepy-looking neighbourhood, fields on one side and a couple of sagging apartment blocks on the other. It looked around early evening, judging by the dim light and the street lamps just beginning to flicker awake to salute the night.

Nero yawned. "My sleep schedule is completely messed up," he said. "I'm fairly sure I just slept, yet I still feel I could lie down and nap for a week."

"That's what a chase across London will do for you," Raven said matter-of-factly. "Once we find my safehouse, you can sleep for as long as you like. Speaking of which -" She got out a faded map and her Blackbox from her coat pocket. "I can find the safehouse with this. Hopefully. Then you can both sleep."

"Not until you do," Nero informed her calmly. "You haven't slept for - I don't even know how long. I may be yawning, but I've no idea how you're even functioning right now."

"Many hours of staying awake longer than this," Darkdoom guessed fairly accurately.

"Do you count being knocked unconscious as sleeping?" Raven wondered quietly, as she began to search the map with the Blackbox device.

"No."

"Oh. Okay."


End file.
